@ARTICLE{10.3389/fnint.2018.00064,
AUTHOR={Nikolin, Stevan and Lauf, Shani and Loo, Colleen K. and Martin, Donel},
TITLE={Effects of High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) of the Intraparietal Sulcus and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex on Working Memory and Divided Attention},
JOURNAL={Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience},
VOLUME={12},
PAGES={64},
YEAR={2019},
URL={https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnint.2018.00064},
DOI={10.3389/fnint.2018.00064},
ISSN={1662-5145},
ABSTRACT={Objective: There is a need to elucidate the underlying neural mechanisms subserving working memory and divided attention functioning. Recent neuroimaging studies provide evidence for anatomical co-localisation of both functions. In the present study we used a functional intervention, whereby we applied a novel type of focalised, non-invasive brain stimulation, High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS), to the regions subserving these processes, the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC). Our aim was therefore to modulate activity in these regions using HD-tDCS and thereby assess their relevance for working memory, divided attention and their shared sub-processes.
Method: 78 participants were evenly randomised to one of three conditions in a single blind, parallel group study design. Anodal or sham HD-tDCS was applied to either the left IPS or LDLPFC while participants completed a verbal working memory task, a divided attention task, and two tasks measuring subcomponents of working memory (updating and maintenance).
Results: Focalised stimulation of the IPS and LDLPFC did not significantly modulate performance compared to sham stimulation. However, moderate effect sizes were obtained for at least one HD-tDCS condition relative to sham for all tasks, warranting further research into the functional importance of the IPS in subserving these abilities.
Conclusions: The current results may be useful for informing future tDCS studies for modulating working memory and divided attention functioning.}
}